The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for iron ore, pig iron, direct-reduced iron and other steelmaking raw materials. Latest transactions: iron oreIron oreRio Tinto, Global Ore, 170,000 tonnes of 62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, traded at $97.40 per tonne cfr China, laycan...Read More
The seaborne coking coal spot market was inundated with offers on Thursday May 16 although the high asking prices kept buyers at bay.At least 11 cargoes of premium hard coking coal and two cargoes of second-tier hard coking coal are being offered to buyers in China, according to various sources.Top Australian brands were offered at around $215-216 per tonne cfr China while two cargoes of other bra...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday May 16 that are worth another look.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly higher at the close of trading on Thursday May 16, with trade uncertainties broadly priced in while a stronger dollar tempered commodity buying during afternoon trading.Metals trader Glencore has reshuffled its c...Read More
Six key takeaways from the Cobalt Institute's annual conference in Hong Kong on May 15-16, 2019.Cobalt prices likely to oscillate either side of $15 per lbSupplies of cobalt metal remained limited but the upside for prices would be capped as long as the hydroxide market was in a surplus.Prices were expected to fall over the summer due to weaker seasonal demand, before rebounding as they did at the...Read More
Metals trader Glencore has reshuffled its cobalt team, with David Brocas leading the company's cobalt trading since Franck Schulders has gone on sabbatical.The changes took effect in the past few weeks, Glencore told...Read More
British ferro-alloys producer FE Mottram, the biggest producer of ferro-titanium in Europe, intends to restart production in the third quarter of 2019 after a fire damaged its plant in April, according to an industry source.FE Mottram, which is owned by Belgium-based ferro-alloys and metals trader Metraco, stopped production at its plant in Sheffield, northern England, after a furnace exploded on...Read More
The European molybdenum market has continued the downtrend seen late last week and edged down in the first half of the week that began on Monday May 13, although oxide prices remained unchanged.Fastmarkets assessed the price of European ferro-molybdenum, min 65%, in-warehouse Rotterdam, at $28.50-28.85 per kg on May 15, down from the assessment on May 10 of $28.80-29.10 per kg.Few deals for large...Read More
Demand for stainless steel in China's domestic market was steady over the past week, but trade tensions between the country and the United States are starting to show signs of weighing on prices.The Fastmarkets MB domestic price assessment for benchmark 304 stainless cold-rolled coil in the major market of Wuxi was 14,000-14,400 yuan ($2,036-2,094) per tonne including value-added tax for the week...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 22 points in pre-opening trade. Trade war concerns between China and the U.S. were elevated overnight.Today is triple witching day when May equity and index options and futures last trade. Look for volumes in U.S. equity markets to be higher than average. Applied Materials gained $0.79 to $42.45 after reporting higher...Read More
European nickel premiums universally declined on Tuesday May 14 after weak regional demand for material manifested in depressed premiums across the board. Elsewhere, the cif Shanghai premium rose to a renewed 14-month high on fresh arbitrage profit opportunities on the back of a newly-opened import window. The European briquette premium remained on a three-week downward trajectory on weak de...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange recovered at the close of trading on Wednesday May 15, climbing back above $12,000 per tonne while the metal's cash/three-month spread moved into backwardation for the first time since 2015.The metal's cash/three-month spread differential was recently seen in a backwardation of $9 per tonne, while its nearby June-July spread was now trading i...Read More
Garry Jones, former chief executive officer of the London Metal Exchange, has been appointed as independent non-executive director and remuneration committee chair at ICBC Standard Bank, Fastmarkets understands. Jones was appointed as CEO of the LME after its acquisition by the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) in 2012 and fulfilled the role until 2017, when current CEO Matthew Chamberlain...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 15 that are worth another look.Rising inventories of manganese ore at Chinese ports amid soaring import volumes were being fueled by changes to alloy smelters' purchasing habits, offset by low stocks at plants, market participants told Fastmarkets.Trafigura has consolidated its leadership team in the non-ferrous...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday May 15 that are worth another look.Rising inventories of manganese ore at Chinese ports amid soaring import volumes were being fueled by changes to alloy smelters' purchasing habits, offset by low stocks at plants, market participants told Fastmarkets.Trafigura has consolidated its leadership team in the non-ferrous...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The possibility of another auction of indium stock held by the defunct Fanya Metal Exchange has weakened the buying appetite of consumers both in China and abroad. Word had circulated in the market since last week that around 20-100 tonnes of indium held in Fanya's warehouses could be auctioned by the end of May, market sources told Fastmarkets MB. Officials from the Alibaba online platform, where...Read More
The UK ferrous scrap market for deliveries to domestic consumers in May has settled at prices lower than a month earlier, matching losses reported in the export market, trade sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 15.Export prices have fallen in line with weaker sales into the key destination of Turkey, they added.Most UK deals for May deliveries to domestic consumers have been settled at ?15...Read More
Turkish steel producers have continued to book deep-sea scrap cargoes this week, with prices falling further, sources said on Wednesday May 15.The mills were trying to keep their deep-sea scrap purchases as slow as possible, to put downward pressure on prices, because demand for long steel products was sluggish and values were falling, Fastmarkets was told.But two steel mills came to the market...Read More
Prices for mesh-quality wire rod in Europe fell this week following a drop in finished mesh product prices and due to buyer hesitance, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday May 15. Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe fell to ?,?515-535 ($578-600) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, down ?,?10-15 week on week from ?,?525-550 per tonne delive...Read More
Markets were looking brighter on the morning of Wednesday May 15, with the equities and metals firmer, this despite some further poor economic data in China and the uncertainty about which direction US-China trade talks will go.China's CSI 300 up by 2.6%; LME base metals up an average of 0.4%, after a 1.2% gain on TuesdayChina's fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales, all c...Read More